[ OECD MTC Meets to Discuss Shipping Issues in Tokyo, Kobe ]

The Maritime Transport Committee(MTC) of the OECD held its plenary ses
sion in Tokyo on October 25∼26. Discussions were conducted focusing o
n responses to a report on regulatory reform prepared by the OECD Secr
etariat seeking to end the exempting of oceangiong shipping cartels fr
om the application of antimonopoly laws. However, it was decided at th
e Tokyo meet to postpone a decision until a workshop discussion at the
Competition Law and Policy Committee of the OECD(OECD/CLPC) which is
scheduled to take place in Paris in May next year.
As strong opposition was expressed to the report by members of meritim
e commissions from many coumtries, including Japan and the U.S. as wel
l as OECD MTC members, and since no unified response was reached among
the participants at the meet, a decision was made to take up and disc
uss the subject again in a meeting with the CLPC to be held in Paris i
n May 2000. Discussions were also conduted on the revision of the OECD
’s existing common principle of shipping, and an agreement was reache
d to add to the principle subsidiary shipping services, international
intermodal transport, safety and the preservation of the natural envir
onment.
Opinions were also exchanged concerning the role which the OECD/MTC sh
ould play in consultations for the liberalization of shipping at the n
ext round of the WTO, along with measures oriented to safety and the p
reservation of the natural environment as they are to be taken in rega
rd to substandard vessels, among other thing.
Following the Tokyo meet, the OECD/MTC reconvened in Kobe and held a w
orkshop along with dynamic non-member economies (DNMEs) and China. DNM
Es are members/regions of non-OECD Asian and South Americal countries
which are increasingly conducting policy dialogues with OECD member co
untries. Participants who attended the MTC Tokyo meet came from Hong K
ong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Chile. At the workshop
with the DNMEs in Kobe, efforts were made to obtain common understandi
ng concerning shipping policies in order for related nations to cooper
ate in furthering free and fare competition, enhancing shipping servic
e quality, and ensuring safety at sea and preservation of the natural
environment.
Discussions were also conducted on the impacts of the recent Asian mon
etary crisis on the Asian economy and on how to handle consultations f
or the liberalization of shipping in WTO rounds of discussionl. At a w
orkshop with China, presentations were made first by China concerning
the recent development of Chinese shipping, followed by presentations
from both the OECD and China on various subjects, including roles whic
h shipping should play for the development of international trade, eac
h country’s way of thinking on policies, opinions of shipowners and s
hippers as well as the current state of the shipping markets.